TV Talk: Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ revisits sitcom styles through the decades on Disney+

Streaming service Disney+ debuts its first scripted Marvel series, “WandaVision,” which defies superhero story expectations in three episodes made available for review. But there are hints that action set pieces will come eventually during the nine-episode season.

“WandaVision” finds Marvel heroes Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and sentient robot Vision (Paul Bettany) living as a married couple in different eras of sitcoms. From “The Dick Van Dyke Show”-esque first episode to the “Bewitched”-like episode two and a “Brady Bunch”-infused episode three, the pair experience standard-issue sitcom plots with super-powered twists. (The first two “WandaVision” episodes are now streaming with subsequent episodes releasing Fridays.)

Created by writer Jac Schaeffer (the upcoming Marvel movie “Black Widow”) and directed by Matt Shakman (“Game of Thrones”), “WandaVision” gets its sitcom details just right, particularly when it comes to casting: Kathryn Hahn hams it up as a nosy neighbor; multi-cam sitcom vet Debra Jo Rupp (“That ’70s Show”) plays the wife of Vision’s boss.

The end of the first episode offers a hint of the world outside Wanda’s and Vision’s initial black-and-white existence. The contemporary Marvel Cinematic Universe makes further incursions in episodes two and three.

Disney+ says Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) from “Captain Marvel,” Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) from “Ant-Man and The Wasp” and Darcy (Kat Dennings) from “Thor: The Dark World” will make appearances in “WandaVision,” which reportedly tees up stories for upcoming Marvel movies. (Some light MCU research might be useful to the uninitiated but not completely necessary.)

Through clever re-creations of sitcom theme songs, sets and tropes, “WandaVision” proves a unique entry in a genre that’s too often overly similar.

‘Walker’

The CW reboots the 1993-2001 CBS mainstay “Walker, Texas Ranger” with “Supernatural” vet Jared Padalecki sporting perfectly-groomed stubble as he steps into Chuck Norris’ cowboy boots.

Unlike the original series’ smallish (four to five person) core cast, the new “Walker” (8 p.m. Jan. 21, WPCW-TV) includes the lawman’s two children (Violet Brinson, Kale Culley), his parents (Molly Hagan, Mitch Pileggi), his assistant district attorney brother (Keegan Allen), his boss (Coby Bell) and a new partner (Lindsey Morgan).

With so many characters, there’s not as much time for busting up bad guys — and when Walker goes too far in one beat-down he gets a mild reprimand from his boss — so this isn’t your grandfather’s “Walker.” It’s clearly The CW’s cookie cutter iteration which includes an ongoing mystery about who murdered Walker’s wife (Genevieve Padalecki, Jared’s real-life wife), a downer way to kick off the series.

Toni Collette on ‘Odd Squad’

Pittsburgh’s Fred Rogers Productions scored a big-name guest star for its PBS Kids series “Odd Squad”: Oscar-nominated actress Toni Collette (“Knives Out”).

“Her kids like ‘Odd Squad,’ ” series co-creator Tim McKeon told me in January 2019. “She was a delight; so funny and easy to work with.”

A week of new “Odd Squad” episodes kicks off Monday (5 p.m. weekdays, WQED-TV) with Collette’s Sand Queen in the midseason finale on Jan. 22.

Odom’s ‘One Night’ on Amazon

Actor Leslie Odom Jr., a 2003 grad of Carnegie Mellon University’s drama program, stars as soul singer Sam Cooke in director Regina King’s “One Night in Miami,” now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.

The film imagines what happened the February night in 1964 when Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke hung out in a Miami hotel room. Odom said he didn’t initially think he was right for the part.

“I passed on the audition,” Odom said in a recent teleconference with reporters. “The truth is, every now and again somebody sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself. And that was my experience with Regina. Thank goodness.”

Chopper sharing

This week, WPXI-TV general manager Kevin Hayes confirmed a rumor I first heard from a local TV newser in December: WPXI did not renew its contract with its former helicopter service and is now sharing a helicopter with KDKA-TV.

While such an approach flies in the face of competition, it’s a cost-saving measure that was embraced in larger markets more than a decade ago.

KDKA general manager Chris Cotugno described the deal as a mutual decision with video from the chopper shared in breaking news situations. The chopper won’t be adorned with the logos of either station.

Ending/canceled

OWN’s “The Haves and the Have Nots” will end with its upcoming eighth season and is expected to resume airing new episodes in May.

HBO’s “Insecure” will end after its upcoming fifth season.

Amazon canceled “The Pack” after one season.

CNN’s Airport Network will shutter on March 31 as more Americans get news from their smart phones while in airports.

Channel surfing

Fox Chapel native Mimi Armstrong deGruy tells the story of her late husband, an underwater filmmaker who died in a 2012 helicopter accident, in “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy,” which becomes available for rent Tuesday via Apple iTunes and Amazon. Pittsburgh philanthropists Henry and Amber Hillman serve as executive producers on the documentary, and Pittsburgh Filmmakers founder Charlie Humphrey was part of the film’s advisory team. … Anyone longing to see Quibi shows, including “Reno 911!,” take note: Roku acquired Quibi’s content for its free, ad-supported Roku Channel, and the shows will stream there later this year. … HBO Max confirmed it’s making a 10-episode “Sex and the City” limited series (without Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha) titled “And Just Like That…”… PBS goes all-in on Agatha Christie programming on WQED-TV this month with “Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie” (10 p.m. Sunday) and “Agatha Christie’s England” (10 p.m. Jan. 24). … PBS’s “Frontline” on WQED-TV explores current events in “President Biden” (10 p.m. Tuesday) and “Trump’s American Carnage” (10 p.m. Jan. 26). … Tom Hanks will host “Celebrating America,” a 90-minute Inauguration Day special at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC.